The Seduction of Damian (The Gossip of Mysterious Lane #1)

By Morgan Kearns

When Paranormal Partners magazine names Damian their most eligible bachelor, life as he knows it changes forever. Females come out of the woodwork to try and link their names to his—with seductions that make his skin crawl and his stomach heave.

If having crazy females attempt to seduce Damian is hard on him, it’s excruciating for Jocelyn. Firmly planted in the friend zone, she watches as females try to capture the only piece of Damian Jocelyn wants all for herself—his heart.

"Funny and sexy as hell, yet tender and sweet. Morgan Kearns delivers a scrumptious morsel with The Seduction of Damian!" ~Deena Remiel, author of Trinity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morgan Kearns
• Release date: Jul 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465703941

Morgan Kearns

Emmy-Nominated Journalist turned Bestselling Contemporary Romance Author, Morgan Kearns writes the Deadlines & Diamonds series. Fans worldwide love her sexy baseball players and sensual journalists. Grab a book and meet them today! She is an active member of Romance Writers of America with Published Author Network status. She is the Director of Buildin' the Dream, Authors Helping Authors Conference. www.BuildinTheDream.com . If not glued to her laptop, Morgan can be found with her nose stuck in a book or cheering for her own little athletes. She lives in Northern Arizona with her amazing family and her English Bulldog, Gus.

Book preview

The Seduction of Damian

The Gossip of Mysterious Lane – Story 1

Morgan Kearns

Copyright©MorganKearns2011

Smashwords Edition

Praises for MORGAN KEARNS:

"Her writing is absolutely engrossing."

~Kari Thomas,

Paranormal Romance Author

Praises for FADE TO BLACK:

"…a rollercoaster ride full of sensations."

~Coffee Time Romance

"…an amazingly powerful love story,

one I will not soon forget."

~Book Crazy book reviews

Praises for IN IT TO WIN IT:

"…a gigantic 10!"

~skyla11377 book reviews

Praises for THE SEDUCTION OF DAMIAN:

"Funny and sexy as hell, yet tender and sweet.

Morgan Kearns delivers a scrumptious morsel with

THE SEDUCTION OF DAMIAN!"

~Deena Remiel, author of Trinity

The Gossip of Mysterious Lane - Story 1 The Seduction of Damian is a work of fiction. The characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any similarities to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Published in the United States through:

Goodnight Publishing

www.GoodnightPublishing.com

Copyright © 2011 Morgan Kearns

www.MorganKearns.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without the written consent of the author, except for brief quotations used in critical articles or reviews.

To Damian: Finding your perfect female wasn’t as hard for me as it was for you. Enjoy your happily ever after!

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all of my readers! You are the sunshine when the skies are dark.

To those I call friend, thank you for the constant rah-rahs!

A huge thanks to Siobhan Muir for being an editor extraordinaire!

To Terri: You are the mac-daddy master! You’re the best!

I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my wonderful family. Thank you to my kids for your patience. Thanks to the greatest husband ever; the honest-to-goodness love of my life! I love you!

The Seduction of Damian

~

The Gossip of Mysterious Lane – Story 1

by

Morgan Kearns

Chapter One

SHIT! DAMMIT! Sonofa… Damian’s tongue spat every curse word that crossed through his mind, some of them not even English.

The face smiling at him from the front page of Paranormal Partners was one Damian recognized. Hell, he should. He looked into those dark eyes every evening in the mirror.

He crumpled up the newspaper between his big palms and chucked the wad across the room, not taking the time to relish the nothing-but-net. Plowing his fingers through his black hair he considered the ramifications of what this would mean.

His head met the solid wood top of his kitchen table, lifting for a second before dropping down seeking another hard thud. With any luck the motion would wake him from this cold-sweat kind of daymare.

Yeah … no such luck. Thud! This was reality. Thud! And this reality sucked!

More than one male’s life had been ruined by the ‘honor’ bestowed by PP and their powers that be. Females considered it a real accomplishment to spend a few hours in the arms of the poor sap named their most eligible bachelor.

No, thank you. Damian wasn’t interested in that kind of flattery. And he sure as hell wasn’t interested in the desperate females who lurked in that particular cesspool.

The dating rag had arrived in his mailbox early this evening and Damian wasn’t sure how he should handle the unwanted endorsement. It wasn’t like he could suddenly go unlisted; his number was already out in the world just waiting to be Googled.

As if the phone knew he was considering pulling the plug from the wall, the damned thing started to ring; an annoying shrill that set his fangs on edge.

Perfect. Just freakin’ perfect.

The journey across the kitchen became more of a walk through quicksand. One miserably slow footstep at a time. The phone sat prone on the countertop, mocking him, and a single look at the caller id had him rolling his eyes. Reaching for the phone he now understood what relief truly felt like.

No laughing, Jocelyn.

She did anyway.

Her giggles carried through the line and washed over Damian, easing the tension in his shoulders. Damn him, a grin lifted the corners of his mouth.

I’m sorry. She snorted. I know it’s not funny. Giggle, giggle, snort. Deep breath. Do you wanna move in h— Her question was cut off by another snort.

Damian shook his head and snorted right along with her, but not in amusement. No.

She cleared her throat and he imagined her pursing her lips to gain some composure. Who knows; maybe nobody will care and you’ll be able to continue living your life without the nuisance of drooling women.

Her words were meant as a comfort, but instead of calming him, they spiked a defensiveness that he didn’t understand—and was completely absurd.

"Come on, it’s not